US recognised Morocco?s claim to Western Sahara. Now what?

Washington also said on Thursday that it plans to open a consulate in Dakhla in Western Sahara “to promote economic and business opportunities for the region”.“While US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty does not necessarily translate into international recognition … it does bolster Morocco’s claim” to the territory, Fakir said in a video posted on Twitter on Thursday.The decision complicates the US’s relationship with Algeria, which supports Sahrawi self-determination and their claim to independence in the territory, while also complicating US-Morocco relations moving forward, she said.Earlier today, President Trump tweeted that the U.S. would recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, just as Morocco normalized relations with Israel as part of the Abraham accords@IntissarFakir unpacks what these latest developments mean for the region: pic.twitter.com/rGetGxbd7r— Carnegie Endowment (@CarnegieEndow) December 10, 2020“Now the US has no flexibility on the Western Sahara,” Fakir said, “and if the incoming [Joe] Biden administration were to not abide by the Trump administration’s position, US-Moroccan relations would sour.”Trump has made several key foreign policy decisions in the final weeks of his presidency that political analysts say aim to shackle the incoming Biden administration, including as it pertains to Israel and Iran.On Thursday, Democratic Congresswoman Betty McCollum slammed the Trump administration’s move, saying “the Sahrawi people have an internationally recognised right to self-determination that must be respected”.“Trump’s actions dangerously extend legitimacy to the illegal annexation of Sahrawi territory, which could foreshadow his administration’s intent to recognize Israel’s annexation of Palestinian land,” McCollum, an outspoken critic of Israeli policies, tweeted.I condemn Trump’s unilateral recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco’s diplomatic recognition of Israel.